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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29955405">Moonlight: Part IV</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofloveandlonging/pseuds/ofloveandlonging'>ofloveandlonging</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Moonlight [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Gentle Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Sickfic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 01:16:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,105</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29955405</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofloveandlonging/pseuds/ofloveandlonging</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When poor Luna isn’t feeling well, Bones is the only one she trusts to help her feel better.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Leonard "Bones" McCoy/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Moonlight [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1635322</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Moonlight: Part IV</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bones awoke to a gentle tapping on his shoulder. As he blinked blearily in the dim light of the room, Luna’s face came into focus. He sat up immediately and put his feet on the floor, resting his elbows on his legs as he faced her. </p>
<p>“Bones?” she whispered, her voice wavering. </p>
<p>“Yeah, sweetheart, what is it? Are you okay?” </p>
<p>She sniffed. “I don’t feel good,” she said with a quiet sob. </p>
<p>Leonard’s brow furrowed in concern as he turned on the soft bedside light and felt Y/N stir beside him. With the light casting a soft glow on her face, he could see the flush covering Luna’s round cheeks. He pressed the back of his hand to her forehead, her cheek, feeling the heat coming off her easily. </p>
<p>“Alright, darlin’. Why don’t you get in bed here and I’ll be right back with something to help you feel better?” </p>
<p>Luna sniffed pitifully again and clambered into bed beside Y/N. As he searched for his medkit, Leonard could hear Y/N roll over and check on Luna. From the sound of her soft, scratchy voice, the poor thing felt terrible. He hoped it wasn’t anything more than a common cold. </p>
<p>“Here, sweetheart. I’m gonna check your temperature, okay?” he told Luna as he sat on the edge of the bed, his kit open beside him. Luna nodded and watched with wide, glassy eyes as he scanned her with his tricorder. He hummed as he glanced at the reading. “That’s quite the fever you’ve got there. Does anything else feel bad, darlin’?” he asked gently. </p>
<p>Luna nodded. Y/N sat up and turned her light on as well, stroking Luna’s hair softly to offer comfort to the poorly girl. “My throat hurts,” she offered. She shivered then, sliding further beneath the covers in an attempt to find warmth for her feverish body. </p>
<p>Leonard pulled a penlight from his kit and gently cupped her cheek. “Can you open wide for me? Say ‘ahh’,” he requested as he clicked the light on and checked her throat. He grimaced at the redness there and hoped she hadn’t contracted a case of strep. </p>
<p>“Can you make me better?” Luna asked, unsure, as she rubbed her tired eyes. </p>
<p>Leonard’s heart ached at that. He softened, replacing his professional demeanor with the gentleness she needed. “Yes, darlin’. I can help you feel a little better. You might feel icky for a few days, but I’ll get you some medicine and it’ll help. How does that sound?” Luna nodded and burrowed closer to Y/N as Leonard patted the bed and stood. “I’ll be right back,” he told Y/N. </p>
<p>After changing out of his night clothes, Bones hurried up to the medbay to retrieve something for Luna’s fever and sore throat. He opted for a liquid instead of a hypo, knowing how anxious they made her. She might not like the taste of the medicine, but he figured she would prefer it to the alternative. </p>
<p>He returned to his shared quarters to find Luna dozing fitfully, pressed up against Y/N’s body for warmth, no doubt. He felt bad waking her but knew she would feel worse the longer she went without something to ease whatever she was fighting. </p>
<p>“Luna, sweetheart,” he murmured as he touched her leg through the blanket. “Can you wake up for me?” </p>
<p>Luna squinted in the soft light of the lamps and took the hand Bones offered her to sit up. </p>
<p>“I’ve got some medicine to help your throat and your fever,” he explained as he measured out the liquid in a small, plastic cup. “It’s a little yucky, so I’ve got some water here for you, too.” He handed her the medicine and chuckled as she made a face at the taste. He passed her the water glass and watched her sip it tentatively. </p>
<p>“It hurts my throat,” she sniffed. Y/N frowned in sympathy as Bones nodded. </p>
<p>“I know, darlin’, but you need to drink a little bit. Can you take one sip, please?” </p>
<p>Luna sighed and took a baby sip from the glass and passed it back to Bones to set on the bedside table. </p>
<p>“We’ll try a little more in the morning after the medicine has had a chance to work,” Bones murmured to Y/N. “For now, let’s let her rest.” </p>
<p>Y/N gasped softly. “You have an away mission tomorrow, don’t you?” she asked sympathetically. </p>
<p>“It’ll be alright. We don’t leave until late morning and it’s a brief mission. I’ll sleep in a bit,” he assured her. With one last brush of his hand against Luna’s cheek, Bones slipped away to the couch where he drifted to sleep. </p>
<p>.<br/>.</p>
<p>Bones checked his watch for the thousandth time as Jim schmoozed the leader of the planet they had traveled to for the away mission. Once the fancy lunch they had to attend was over, Bones planned to head back to the Enterprise; he was really only here to make sure the captain didn’t suffer any allergic reactions to the food, as he often did. The people were friendly and they were at no risk of danger, making his presence superfluous. </p>
<p>Just as his mind wandered to Luna and how the young girl was doing, his comm beeped. He excused himself from the dining room to take the call, his heart skipping a beat when Nurse Chapel responded on the line. </p>
<p>“Doctor McCoy, are you able to come back?” she asked calmly, though he could detect a note of anxiety in her voice. </p>
<p>“We’re nearly at a stopping point,” he said slowly. “Why? Is everything alright?” </p>
<p>Christine sighed. “Y/N brought Luna up to the medbay about half an hour ago. Poor dear’s fever is up and she won’t let anyone besides you near enough to help.” </p>
<p>Bones grimaced and looked behind him at the heavy doors to the consulate dining room. “I can beam up in 5. Let me talk to the captain and let him know where I’m going be and I’ll be on my way.” He hung up with a click and went to find Jim. After a hurried explanation and Jim’s insistence that they had everything under control, he commed engineering to beam him up. </p>
<p>He entered the medbay to find Luna curled miserably in a biobed, Y/N by her side holding her hand. </p>
<p>“Hey, little darlin’,” he began softly as he sat beside her. “How are you doing?” Luna merely shrugged, and he looked at Y/N for an explanation. </p>
<p>Y/N sighed. “She woke from a nap early this afternoon with a rising fever and complaining that her throat hurt. I couldn’t get her to drink anything, including her medicine, so we came here.” She looked down at the young girl curled beside her. “She won’t let anyone help her. Started asking for you and crying a little while ago.” </p>
<p>“Is that so?” Bones asked with a sad smile. “Let’s see what we can do to get you feeling better. Would that be okay?” Luna nodded pitifully and curled into herself tighter. “Alright. You just lay there and let me take a look.” </p>
<p>He flicked on the biobed and watched as it read her vitals. He was unsurprised to see where her fever had climbed to. Based on how poorly Luna seemed to feel, he imagined it would be high. </p>
<p>Luna gave a bit of protest when he asked to examine her more closely, but gave in with the promise of ice cream when they returned to their quarters. He took great care not to frighten her as he pressed a stethoscope to her chest and back before checking her throat once again. He grimaced upon seeing the telltale signs of strep throat forming and gave her a sympathetic smile. </p>
<p>“Alright, Miss Luna. I think you’ve got a nasty case of strep throat coming on, which means your throat is going to feel sore for a few days. I’m going to give you some medicine and then we can go back to the quarters and watch a movie. Does that sound good?” he asked. Luna nodded and shifted to lay back on the biobed once again. With a smile, Leonard stood and crossed the medbay to find a hypo and the medication cartridges he needed. </p>
<p>Christine intercepted him on his way back, her teeth worrying her lip. “How is the poor dear doing?” </p>
<p>Leonard smiled. “She’ll be just fine, Chris. Just needs some antibiotics and something mild for the pain, and lots of rest and ice cream.” He touched her arm. “Thank you for looking out for her.” </p>
<p>Christine returned his smile and let him make his way back to Luna. </p>
<p>Bones set the hypo and cartridges down on the bedside table as he sat next to her again. “Okay, sweetheart, I’ve got some medicine for you that will help your throat and your fever. But,” he paused to take her hand, “because your throat is hurting so much, I don’t want to give you anything to swallow. I’m gonna give you two hypos really fast, okay?” he told her gently, anticipating her anxiety before he’d finished his sentence. </p>
<p>Tears welled in her eyes as she shook her head, and Leonard was reminded of the first time she found herself in the medbay. </p>
<p>“I don’t want them,” shes sniffed, her heart rate increasing on the monitor. </p>
<p>“Would you like to try and swallow the medicine instead?” he asked gently, wanting to give her the option in case his assumption had been wrong. She shook her head quickly. “No? Does it hurt too much?” A nod. “I know you don’t want the hypos, darlin’, but we need to get you feeling better somehow. I promise it’ll be over so fast.” </p>
<p>Luna hiccupped and burrowed into herself. Leonard sighed and glanced at Y/N, an idea coming to him. </p>
<p>“Would you like to sit with Y/N? I bet she won’t mind.” Luna paused and looked up at Y/N, thinking as she fidgeted with the fabric of her shirt. </p>
<p>“Okay,” she mumbled. Y/N smiled and reached for Luna, scooping her up in her arms and cradling her to her chest as she settled on the biobed. </p>
<p>“You’re okay, love,” Y/N murmured as she held Luna to her and stroked her cheek soothingly. “Close your eyes and it’ll be over soon.” </p>
<p>Leonard smiled and deftly loaded the cartridge into the hypospray, brushing Luna’s hair aside and injecting the first medication. She flinched at the sound and shrunk away once he had finished. </p>
<p>“Good job, kiddo,” he praised as he loaded the second one. </p>
<p>“‘S loud,” she mumbled. He chuckled and Y/N pressed her hand over Luna’s ear. </p>
<p>“Last one,” he assured her, cupping her opposite cheek and injecting the second medication quickly. Luna immediately relaxed, though whether it was from her lessening anxiety or the pain relief, he wasn’t sure. “All done, sweetheart. You did a great job.” </p>
<p>“Come on, little love, up we go,” Y/N cooed fondly as she rose with Luna in her arms. “We’d better go get some ice cream.” Luna giggled, her face pressing into Y/N’s shoulder as their trio headed for the turbolift to their quarters. </p>
<p>A few short minutes later, Luna was tucked under a blanket on the couch, Bones and Y/N on either side of her and a bowl of chocolate ice cream in her lap. </p>
<p>“How’s your throat feeling?” Bones asked kindly over the old movie they had playing. </p>
<p>“”S a little better,” Luna said as she took another bite. Bones smiled down at her affectionately and curled an arm around her. </p>
<p>“Good,” he said with a kiss to the top of her head. </p>
<p>“Can I have some more?” Luna asked as she showed them her empty bowl. </p>
<p>Bones chuckled. “Tell you what. If you finish a glass of water, I’ll get you some more ice cream.” Luna nodded enthusiastically and reached for the glass he handed her, downing it with only a small wince. </p>
<p>She sighed. “All done,” she announced and grinned cheekily at him. </p>
<p>“A deal’s a deal,” Leonard agreed as he stood and headed to the replicator to get her some more. Y/N appeared beside him, both of their own empty bowls in her hand and a wry smile on her face. </p>
<p>“That little girl has you wrapped around her tiny finger,” she said warmly, her eyes twinkling. </p>
<p>Leonard looked over her shoulder where a tuft of messy blonde hair stuck over the couch and a giggle could be heard. He smiled to himself. “She does. She really does.”</p>
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